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India, Egypt, And UAE Reportedly Interested In Hawkeye

The stalwart E-2 Hawkeye
surveillance plane, a mainstay of the US Navy's aircraft fleet for
three decades, has attracted the interest of three new potential
customers... and that's good news for manufacturer Northrop
Grumman.

Citing information from the Department of Defense, Newsday
reports the government of India is interested in purchasing the
newest E-2D Advanced Hawkeye variant of the aircraft. Government
officials confirmed Egypt and the United Arab Emirates have also
expressed interest in purchasing upgraded versions of existing
Hawkeyes.

Northrop spokeswoman Dianne Baumert-Moyik confirmed India is
interested in purchasing the Hawkeye, which features early-warning
radar systems. "They have requested information from us," she
said.

On Monday, China's Xinhua news agency quoted an upcoming issue
of India Strategic Defense magazine, stating the US government is
willing to sell the advanced E-2D model to India, for use by its
navy. The sale would need to be approved by the DoD and State
Department, under the Foreign Military Sales Act.

"India has been doing a lot of talking about buying weaponry
lately," said JSA Research military analyst Paul Nisbet, citing
India's concern of the presence of Taliban fighters in neighboring
Pakistan.

Furthermore, the Pentagon's Defense Security Cooperation
Agency's website indicates Congress was notified earlier this month
of a "possible foreign military sale" to the United Arab Emirates,
consisting of "upgrades and refurbishments" of E-2C aircraft. The
C-model is the type now in use by the Navy; it entered service in
the early 1970s.

In October, Congress was also notified of a possible E-2C sale
to Egypt, one of five foreign countries that already operate the
type.

If approved, the new foreign orders would breathe new life into
Northrop's plant in St. Augustine, FL, which manufactures the
Advanced Hawkeye's airframe; and its facility in Bethpage/ Long
Island NY, that builds the radar and other electronic systems.

Northrop is also awaiting Congressional approval on a 75-plane
E-2D deal from the US Navy, that could be worth $10 billion over 10
years.